Klingon Empire's Newest Hero: James T Kirk
by Starsinger
Summary: A funny thing happened on the way to Khitomer…Kirk gets a surprise
1. Chapter 1

**Klingon Empire's Newest Hero: Fleet Captain James T Kirk**

by Starsinger

**A funny thing happened on the way to Khitomer… Don't own them. Oh, I'm not even going to try and attempt Klingon.**

The war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire did happen, just as Admiral Marcus predicted. Two years after the USS Enterprise finished her five year mission, the Klingon Empire declared war. It was mostly over a shared territory, and the Neutral Zone. It also had to do with Jim Kirk. Evidence had come to light that he had, in fact, attacked Qo'noS, and been partially responsible for the many deaths that occurred there. Starfleet wouldn't give him up, and never told Jim that.

Jim met up with the USS Joshua and the rest of the fleet, and soon realized just how well the Joshua's technology could be utilized to command the fleet in battle, but the Enterprise was still home. Finally, one day, a momentous event occurred. Praxis, the main source of dilithium crystals for the Klingon Empire, and one of Qo'noS' moons, exploded. The shockwave knocked sixteen Starfleet ship's out of warp, including the USS Excelsior and the USS Gagarin who were travelling together. The Gagarin was still one of two ships in Starfleet with permission to cross into Klingon territory. The Excelsior headed for Earth, the Gagarin for Qo'noS.

The Joshua left Kirk with the Enterprise after word came from the Gagarin that they needed environmental specialists from Vulcan. The Joshua picked up those specialists and headed for Qo'nos, joining their sister ship. The war ground to a halt as the Federation breathlessly awaited the verdict. It was swift. The exploding moon had altered both the planet's orbit and axial tilt. The direct result was a nuclear winter that would last for years. The indirect result: Qo'noS would be uninhabitable in eighty years. There was nothing anyone could do except evacuate the population.

A nervous peace ensued. The Joshua and Gagarin made frequent trips until finally, the Klingon Chancellor, Azetbur, agreed to a conference. That she even agreed to it made the Federation sigh in relief, and hope that this conflict would soon be over. Both ships and several Klingon Vessels exited the Neutral Zone, but no one, save those on board, knew which the Chancellor was on as they all headed for Khitomer. Khitomer was a planet along the Neutral Zone mostly inhabited by Klingons. Humans also had come to live there as well as other species from both sides of the Neutral Zone, and they had all come to do so in peace, so it seemed the perfect place for talks.

It was also the perfect place for murder. The Enterprise heard from a source inside the Romulan Empire that a prototype warbird had been developed that could fire without decloaking. Knowing both the Joshua and the Gagarin would not be equipped to deal with this kind of threat, the Excelsior and the Enterprise raced for Khitomer to prevent the massacre that was sure to ensue. They got there in time to head off the unknown warbird. It seemed like hours before Scotty, who knew ships like the back of his hand, had the idea to look for the ship's exhaust. Wounded, both ships kept firing randomly before Scotty finally found the exhaust he was looking for and fed both weapons specialists on both ships the coordinates. The ships fired, hitting their target and destroying the ship.

Jim and his crew beamed down outside the conference area and hurriedly moved in. They feared that someone would try to assassinate the Federation President and the Klingon Chancellor. They moved into the room and Spock and Kirk noticed the glint from a rifle on the balcony simultaneously. Spock ran for the stairs while Kirk sprinted for the podium. He moved so fast that no one could stop him as he flung himself at Azetbur. The Chancellor heard the whine of the rifle and being forced down by a strong human body. She glanced around and realized that she wasn't hurt before she started pushing at the form above her. He didn't move. She looked around as several Klingons hauled Kirk off her and she stared at him, his gold shirt rapidly turning red. She suddenly realized that he took the shot meant for her and that was his blood. "Lay him down, gently," she ordered.

Reflexively, they nearly dropped him as they suddenly realized they held the criminal known as Captain Kirk. Azetbur eased him to the ground as she realized he was gasping for air. She pulled off her cloak and pressed it to his chest, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. She looked up to see another man, McCoy she realized, kneeling down beside them. "Jim," he said to the man, "you've taken a bad hit. It barely missed your heart. I need to get you outside to beam to the ship." They heard a loud thump and realized that the assassin had fallen out of the balcony. "I need a gurney, I don't want to move him, but we can't beam out of this building, and the only place I can help him is on the Enterprise."

Azetbur stared at him suddenly realizing how critically injured Kirk was. She slipped her arms underneath the captain, and with an amazing show of strength, picked him up and ran for the exit. McCoy took off after her along with half the remaining people in the hall. They reached the outside and McCoy pulled out his communicator, "McCoy to Enterprise, three to beam up. I need Chapel to meet us in the transporter room with a gurney and M'Benga to set up an emergency surgery room for the Captain. Energize."

McCoy smiled in relief as he saw Chapel and an orderly waiting for them. He realized that the Chancellor had the Captain cradled in her arms. "Ma'am," he said politely, pointing at the gurney.

Azetbur laid the Captain down very gently, "He really is very pretty, isn't he?" she murmured. The captain was rushed out of her reach and she stared after him.

"Ma'am," a very polite transporter chief addressed her. "Would you like to go back to the planet?

Azetbur was startled out of her reverie, "Could you take me to wherever they treat the injured here? I'd like to stay and see if he'll be alright." The chief nodded at a security officer who guided her out of the room and to Sickbay. She was surprised when a nurse handed her her bloody cloak. She stared at it before requesting communications with her people, "Kiraz, what is the mood down there?"

"Uh, well, half of the Warriors want to set off on a quest to send Kirk's soul to Sto'Vo'Kor, and the other half are negotiating with the Federation for peace," her advisor told her. She winced. "Is he dead?"

"No, he's not. He's in surgery now. Let his crew know what's going on, it's not good," she heard his speaking to someone.

"Some of them are returning to the Enterprise, the others are staying," Azetbur nodded. The nurse showed her to a chair as she sat. Others joined her: Uhura, Scotty, Chekov, Sulu, and finally Spock came in and sat down. The surgery lasted hours as more people from more ships came in. Finally, Kris McDaniel showed up and sat down to speak quietly to Azetbur.

"You need to talk to them. I'm not entirely sure that a Sto'Vo'Kor quest is a good idea right now. I mean, Kirk is still, technically, a wanted criminal," Kris murmured.

"Excuse me," Sulu said. "What is Sto'Vo'Kor?"

"Uh, it's the Klingon equivalent of Valhalla," Kris replied.

"They're not going to kill him to get him there?" Uhura blurted out.

Kris shook her head as Azetbur explained, "Sto'Vo'Kor is the place where warriors who died in battle go. If a warrior does not die in battle, a group of those closest to them can go on a glorious quest to ensure their entry into Sto'Vo'Kor."

"So, they don't want to kill him anymore?" Spock asked.

"Well, no, in fact I'm going to have to rescind his death sentence now. Can't have the newest hero of the Klingon Empire chased down and killed by Klingons," she said with a laugh.

They all stood as McCoy and M'Benga exited surgery, Jim was wheeled out and into Intensive Care. He was on a ventilator. "The shot took him in the chest near the heart. His left lung is damaged, and he'll be on the vent for a while. Truth is, I don't know if he'll live. He's tough though, I believe he'll pull through."

Azetbur nodded, "I guess I'd best go address my people." She turned to Spock, "May I do it here?" Spock nodded, understanding her need to show them the honor of the Federation. The camera soon panned on her as she stood at Kirk's bedside as it showed both as Azetbur started to speak in Klingon. "My people, today a man reviled among our people showed us that true honor resides in the hearts of others. He saved my life from an assassin." They watched as she reached out and touched Jim's hair. His chest rose and fell in time with the machine at his side. "He raced through the meeting place and placed himself in front of me taking a shot that would have killed me."

Azetbur took a deep steadying breath, she picked up her blood soaked cloak and showed it to the camera, "This is human blood, his blood. I rescind the order of death on one James Tiberius Kirk, and name him a hero. He, and his crew, are welcome on Qo'noS at any time. I realize many of you have plans to send him to Sto'Vo'Kor, I ask that you hold off at this time, and hope that he recovers so he may be received and honored as his actions and deeds deserve."

**There's more to this story, and, frankly, this is a stream of consciousness story to get some writing done. Any reviews would be helpful, if this sounds a bit like the Undiscovered Country, well, it probably should. I liked that movie, it was a good one.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Empire Chapter 2**

by Starsinger

**I appreciate all the reviews, and especially the blatantly honest ones, you know who you are. I'm currently bubble wrapping (my version of brainstorming, looks kinda like connect the dots) the first chapter in the expansion of this story. I also finished doing that with the next chapter of Deneva. It's going to be a little sad, McCoy and Kirk reminiscing on their lives when they were married. But, back to the matter at hand. I'm finishing this chapter, and going on to the next chapter of Deneva, and then, just maybe, going to bed. Amazing what happens when you're tossed out of your apartment for four hours after you just got home from work and find yourself at the Braum's around the corner. Not fair that there's a Braum's around the corner and a Sonic down the street. Don't get me started on what's near work, that starts with a Whataburger. Like him too much. I'm rambling, sorry, don't own them.**

It took four days for Kirk to decide whether or not he was going to live, and the answer was a definite yes. Meanwhile, Azetbur had managed to get it into her head that Kirk wasn't going to survive. Her own physician vehemently proclaimed that no one survived the hit he had taken. Except that where Jim's lung was, was where the secondary heart valve for a Klingon's main heart was located, if it had been a Klingon, despite all the redundancies in their bodies, they would have died, instantly. A fact that did not escape the Chancellor. So she set a Klingon honor guard over the prone Captain to scream his name in hopes of his entry into Sto'Vo'Kor. McCoy was concerned that so many Klingons surrounding him would scare Jim to death when he awoke.

A week after Jim got hurt, he sat Azetbur down and talked to her, "Ma'am, we appreciate the honor you're according the Captain, but Jim isn't going to die."

"You don't need to lie to me, Doctor, my own physician has told me that this type of injury is fatal," she told him.

"In Klingons, perhaps, but I got him into surgery fast enough that he should wake up any minute now. I'm afraid he went into this thinking he was under a death penalty, and he's going to wake up thinking that they're there to kill him," McCoy finished.

"If he's not going to die, why hasn't he woken up?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe he's catching up on his beauty sleep. He hasn't been able to do that since the war started," he said with a laugh. Azetbur tilted her head in confusion, the English idiom going completely over her head. McCoy sighed before his board lit up, Jim's heart rate and blood pressure went way up, he was probably awake and staring at four Klingons. McCoy rushed from his office to the only occupied biobed in the ICU, Azetbur right behind him. Jim was frantically waving his hands at the men surrounding his bed while peering around for someone familiar. "Jim! Jim, calm down, it's alright, you're on the Enterprise," Jim told him, catching his hands to try and calm him down. "These men are acting as your bodyguards." Kirk looked at him like he was crazy. He was unable to communicate with a tube stuck down his throat and Bones knew he had to feel very vulnerable at this point.

"He is right, Captain," Azetbur said smoothly stepping in. Can't have the newest hero of the Klingon Empire assassinated before we give him another medal," she was very smooth. McCoy suddenly realized how she became Chancellor. Kirk gave them both a puzzled look, "You saved my life, Kirk, a medal is the least I can do. You, and your crew now enjoy the same privileges as the USS Joshua and the USS Gagarin. You are welcome in Klingon space any time. I'm sure they'll show you the way it should be done, so you don't get shot down."

Kirk waved at his mouth and then made writing motions, McCoy took that as a hint and grabbed a PADD. Kirk started typing, _What's the damage?_

McCoy knew he was referring to himself, "You're battered, bruised, the vent is allowing your left lung to heal. I'm sorry, Jim, it's going to be another one, maybe two weeks before you're off the vent. Admiral Komack has ordered us back to Earth, Starfleet, apparently, wants to reassure themselves that you're going to be okay."

_Damn Admirals_, Kirk wrote, _Can't even let me recover in peace._

"Jim, I'm not sure they would have let you die in peace. I saw the plans they had drawn up for your state funeral before they realized I had a way of bringing you back. They only had ten minutes to come up with it."

_Admiral Archer, I bet, sly old bastard, he'd been planning it since I joined, I'd bet. Can't ask him now._

Archer had died before the war started. Barnett had taken over his job, and was doing an excellent job. "Someone's on their way here to assess the situation themselves. Don't know who, though." McCoy glanced at Azetbur, "Can you get them to move outside the ICU. I just don't want him under much stress. He might calm down if he can't see your friends." She nodded and barked orders at the bodyguards.

"I'm returning to Khitomer soon, Captain. I plan on seeing you on Earth for the signing," she said with a nod before exiting the room.

_Signing?_ Kirk asked.

"Yeah, after your heroics, they managed to hammer out a peace treaty and an alliance of sorts. I'm sure the Romulans are going to be so thrilled about that." Bones turned to the swoosh of the doors as they opened to admit someone else into the room. "Well, I'll be damned. When did they let you out?" McCoy asked the figure now coming into Sickbay.

**Yes, a mild cliffhangar. Not a biggie, but one nonetheless, and my body is screaming for sleep. Good night everyone.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Klingon Chapter 3**

by Starsinger

**Yes, people, Pike is alive in this universe. I like him too much. I love AUs, so many different potentials running rampant. Don't own any of them.**

Azetbur turned to the sound of approaching footsteps, she was not familiar with this man, but the cane said it was one person: Admiral Christopher Pike. She nodded her head in greeting as he approached the bed, "Can you save the Federation at least once without getting seriously hurt?"

_Hey! You were the one who was injured the first time! Remember the Narada?_ Jim typed.

"I didn't get myself killed," Pike said softly. "So, he's going to live?" he asked McCoy.

"Oh, yes, in spite of himself, he will live, and be doing it in here for the next few weeks. Can't let him off the machines until that lung is healed," McCoy replied. Kirk glared at him and was promptly ignored.

"No, I'm leaving the command of the Enterprise to Captain Spock, Jim. Komack just wanted visual proof that you weren't dead from someone not in your crew. Chancellor, we need to talk, logistics is all, but the President doesn't want to mess this up." McCoy watched as both of them left Sickbay. He turned back to find Kirk had fallen asleep.

The Enterprise took a month to get home. The Klingons weren't going to sign anything until Kirk was there, and no one wanted him doing that in his bed. So, they took their time. They made their slow, leisurely way back to Earth, occasionally stopping to observe something scientifically interesting or new as it took their fancy.

Kirk's incapacitation didn't mean he wasn't working. Just as sly as Admiral Archer, McCoy put Kirk to work. Yeoman Rand had weeks of unsigned reports that Kirk needed to catch up on, and those required just his fingers on his right hand and his eyes. There were journals in Engineering and Physics that he wanted to catch up on, not to mention a few articles in computer sciences.

Spock came down and discussed a few of the anomalies they encountered with him. Scotty came over and they discussed some of the articles, and Chekov, well, he came in and was his cute, adorable self. Chris came in to discuss what the ships in Jim's fleet were up to. The USS Joshua was still in orbit around Khitomer while the USS Gagarin had been asked to keep an eye on the conditions on Qo'noS. Klingons predilection toward sneering at scientists had left them without the few they had produced to do it themselves. The Enterprise was also escorted on occasion by different Federation and Klingon ships that just happened to be in the area. They'd meet up, travel together for a while, and then just go their separate ways.

It was so much at odds with the years of war that they had all endured that they were still in shock when they arrived at Earth to discover three Warbirds parked in orbit. While Kirk was well enough to attend the signing, McCoy made him stay in a wheelchair, in full dress uniform, his Fleet Captain insignia proudly gleaming in the artificial light.

Azetbur stood, speaking in Federation Standard, "We gather here today in hopes of a brighter future, and a better tomorrow. I have learned a lot about Starfleet and the Federation in the six weeks since Praxis exploded, and the two weeks since Khitomer. A man once thought a bitter enemy, has become a trusted friend. He showed true honor by wanting only peace," the Chancellor nodded at Kirk, who nodded back. "What's coming will not be easy. We have years of mistrust and hatred to put behind all of us, but with the stroke of this pen, I open the border to all who wish to cross peacefully. We still have a lot of work ahead of us as Starfleet joins in the efforts to find a new homeworld for us, but I expect that we can do this together." She signed the document and walked over to Kirk, "As for you, Captain, this medal is the Medal of Kahless, our first and only Emperor. It is the highest we can award to a warrior. You are a warrior, Captain Kirk, just not of the Klingon variety." She pinned it to his uniform, "Qapla!" she announced as her fellow Klingons joined in the cry.

"What does that mean again?" Jim asked.

Uhura leaned forward, "Kris said that it meant, translated literally, success."

**And thus we end this narrative of this story.**


End file.
